Christopher Hohler presented my first tutorial at the Courtauld on the St. Albans Psalter. I was hooked. He transformed impenetrable palaeo- graphy and arcane Byzantine iconography into a breathless love story between Christina of Markyate and Abbot Geoffrey of St. Albans. He guffawed over their discussions about delicate underwear: 'Here, she lent over his shoulder and pointed out his spelling mistake.’ The class was unforgettable, but my notes useless. I had been equally mesmerised by the medieval relics of chocolate biscuits which lingered in his flowing moustache, and stopped writing.

Thirty years later, Erla Bergendahl Hohler, his wife, kindly lent me Chritsopher’s own notes which seethe with his insights, red herrings, digressions and humour. His spidery hand crawls 360 degrees around the yellowing foolscap. These notes lie behind the new website sponsored by the A.H.R.B. and the forthcoming conference sponsored by the British Academy. The Courtauld speakers are T.A. Heslop and Richard Plant. The complete St. Albans Psalter will be seen in colour by late Spring at: www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/historic/stabanspsalter.

The conference Christina of Markyate and the St. Albans Psalter will be held 2-3 Autust 2003 at St. Albans School. For applications for tickets visit the website above or contact Jane Geddes, History of Art Department, Aberdeen University, Aberdeen AB24 3UG.

JANE GEDDES